Resorts when Universal Studios and Disney World in Same Vacation

[Tinkh]

I would for sure do the two stays. We have done it both ways and staying onsite at Universal is incredible. Nothing ever beats Disney in my book because I like the parks better, but the hotels at Universal are so much nicer than any of the Disney ones. The front of the line access that you can use over and over is just amazing. It is like having fastpasses all day for so many of the rides (Not all of them though) and you also get early access to Harry Potter.

 

[stepdisney]

Okay, we are at WDW right now . We did US/IoA first (we always do) and then Disney. It is much easier to fly in and rent a car at the airport. This year we stayed at Portofino Bay. It is a beautiful resort. We are now at the YC for 6 days. It is easier for us to keep the car for a week and then turn it in at the Dolphin and take the Magic Express back to the airport. We hate dragging our luggage at the end of the trip and appreciate the baggage check that Disney offers. It is easier on us at MCO without worrying about checking our bags.

 

[maryj11]

Would you prefer to stay at a Universal Studios Resort, then move to a Disney Resort? Or Just stay at Disney the whole time and take a taxi/rental car to Universal for 1 or 2 days?

Option 1: Check in to US onsite hotel Jan. 19 for 3 nights (Sat, Sun, Mon), go to US Sun and Mon, check-into Disney Resort Tuesday for 6 or 7 nights. This would give us more time at US with less rush in the morning. Not sure if Sea World is worth fitting in during January... might save that for a future trip during a warmer month when more is going on at Sea World.

Option 2: Just stay at Disney hotel the whole time and take a taxi/rental car 2 days to US. This would probably save us a few bucks and not have the hassle of checking in-out between the two resorts.

We did go to Universal last September from the Polynesian at Disney. We took the Mears shuttle and it was no problem at all, it didnt cost much for the shuttle and they picked us up right at the resort and let us pick a meeting time to return.

 

[macraven]

i've been doing the split stays between the motherland and the darkside resorts since 1999.

i like to keep it as two separate vacations and do everything i want to at the resort i am staying at.
check into disney and have a disney stay, then move on the second half of my vacation at UO.

i will be at disney resorts for 8 nights/9 days, then transfer by private car service to universal resorts for 10 days.

i'm more rushed when at disney due to using the bus transportation and park hopping. that and table service meals cuts into my park time.

when at universal, it is a much slower pace for me.
no intensive planning.

for that reason, i start with the motherland and end with the darkside.

when universal did not have the onsite hotels (1994 era), i drove there from the disney resort a couple of days each disney stay.
some nights we stayed until we closed the place down and i hated driving back at night from there.
it was difficult for us to break the disney vacation up and hit other places when we only stayed for maybe 5 night/6 days onsite when we first started going.
we always felt we were missing something and didn't have enough time to do all we wanted to at disney.

i just found it easier to make my vacations into 2 separate ones to hit both places.

 

[longing4disney]

We will be staying poly for 11 days then moving to universal for 5 days in our upcoming trip. ME to Poly. Then at the end of the poly stay, pick up car from CCC and drive to Hard Rock. Return car at airport. Did this 5 years ago and it worked great. Universal hotels are cheaper than Disney deluxe but of comparable quality. Most importantly get unlimited express pass and early entry to WWoHP!

 

[tajz90]

Adding another vote for staying onsite at Universal EXPRESS PASS!

We always stay on site, but not just for that reason. When we are at Disney, we go 90 to nothing. It's boot camp for us. There's so much to do and see. So, when we hit Universal, the express pass lets us see everything quickly and we feel like we have more opportunity to relax and swim or go out to dinner.

 

[dazednconfused]

I agree. The free Express Pass is a great plus!

By the way, would anyone know the best way to transfer hotels from US to WDW? I was trying to research this yesterday and it seems like everyone is going from WDW to US. Thanks.

Hi! We're won't be renting a car, so our plan is to take a taxi from our WDW resort to HRH.

 

[disneyba]

Having done it both ways, I would opt for switching hotels.

When we stayed at POR and went to USfor the day, it was all fine. We had a car rental and used the valet parking. That worked great.

But then we tried a split stay (9 nights at POR and 5 nights at RPR), and that was even better. That US hotel is beautiful, the proximity to the parks is amazing, and the unlimited express line access is a wonderful perk that (though we went in January and the ride lines were not that long.)

Each itinerary has its advantages. It can be a pain to switch hotels in mid-stay, but in this situation, well worth it. We used one of the towncar services to bring us over to RPR from POR. I think it was Happy Limo. In this way, we avoided the daily hotel parking fee. Happy Limo also brought us back to the airport at then end of our stay.

Either way, you can have a great time.

 

[labfan]

I vote for the split stay as well. Stay at both. The Universal resorts are great and you also have City Walk there as well for good food.
We will be doing this in May. 4 nights at POFQ and 4 nights at RPR.

 

[msmith07101]

I have done both ways. First time was a trip in '09 where I had driven, so it was easy to pack up and drive over to RPR. We loved it there...walking distance to the parks, or a boat ride over to Citywalk. Loved the FOTL pass for staying onsite. Was a great trip. Then the next trip was just a short trip where we stayed onsite at Disney and just went one day to Universal. We took a bus...I can't remember now what it was. I had learned about it here, on the US/IoA boards. I remember it bing fairly inexpensive and reliable. But if I were going to do US/IoA for 2 or more days I would stay at one of their properties for the perks, and for the ease of being able to break up your day by taking a break at your hotel.